How would the community of Vanuanui be described? Vanuanui is a geographical community that exists because of place and family. The commonalities that bind this community together are the land and waterways that define the physical and spiritual boundaries of Vanuanui, lineage and ancestry, and the cultural values and norms that all share. Even when community members live away from the place, they are still bound to it. Everyone in Vanuanui are rights holders. They are entitled to claim their rights and hold the duty bearers accountable. They also have a responsibility to respect the rights of others. Some rights holders in Vanuanui may be more vulnerable than others; such as women and children, people with disabilities, farmers trying to grow crops with rising sea levels, fishers facing a loss of livelihood due to depleting fish stocks caused by international fishing interests. The legal duty bearers are the government agencies that impact directly on the issues faced by the people of Vanuanui. These include the head offices and local branches of ministries such as agriculture and fisheries, immigration, employment, health, education and infrastructure. Others have the moral duty to promote and protect the lives of the Vanuanui community, such as parents, staff and boards of the three schools, the private fishing companies who fish off the coast, the Vanuanui councils of Chiefs, the church and heads of families. The influencers in Vanuanui include the local media, church leaders, the congregational women’s church fellowship, and the sports teams – in particular the national outrigger canoe champion. The human rights community-led development approach understands ‘community’ as wherever people live, work and play … wherever people exist together, or come together for a common purpose. 1.3 What do we mean by ‘development’? On the surface, the concept of ‘development’ is a good one. It describes a process that results in growth, progress, and positive change. Unfortunately however, development can also means something else. Notions of ‘developed’, ‘developing’ and ‘undeveloped’ societies create a hierarchy that imply that some countries, or communities, are more advanced than others and that expertise is sourced from outside the community. How development is carried out can also be influenced by motivations external to the community with one world view being imposed on another. The ‘expert’ may come from a context different from, and outside of, the community. This invariably results in the denial of a community’s right to selfdetermination and a perpetuation of structures of oppression and disadvantage. Some development projects result in a dependency on external agencies. Other development projects result in inappropriate interventions that have no sustainable benefit for the community. And others result in a pay-back expectation, such as access to geo-political territory or trade deals. Effective development programs are driven by local community ownership and partnerships that support a community’s capacity and commitment to solve their own development challenges. A key question to ask when facilitating human rights community led development is ‘who benefits’? APF HRCLD Guide 15